SOME LANDMARK DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT

Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Established the Court’s power to strike down acts of Congress which are in conflict with the Constitution.

Scott v. Sanford (1857).
Court held that blacks, whether free or slaves, cannot be citizens. This was a “pre civil war” case -- and was voided by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments enacted after the civil war (i.e., in 1865 and 1868 respectively).

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
Court held that segregated facilities for blacks and whites are constitutional under the doctrine of “separate but equal” -- lasted for close to 100 years and resulted in unforgivable oppression. One of the indirect consequences of Lincoln’s assassination.

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942).
Court established the “fighting words doctrine” that some words are not protected under the First Amendment because they are tantamount to violent actions.

Brown v. Board of Education (1955).
Court held that segregated schools in the several states are unconstitutional in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment -- thus overturning Plessy.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).
In stating a “right to privacy,” the Court held that a married couple’s decision to use birth control was a personal decision and not subject to government regulation.

GREAT READ!

Loving v. Virginia (1967).
Virginia’s law banning inter-racial marriages was declared an unconstitutional violation of the Equal Protection Clause because it had no legitimate purpose “independent of invidious racial discrimination.”

GREAT READ!

Katz v. United States (1967).
Court held that evidence obtained by wiretapping a public phone booth without a warrant is not admissible in court, just as if a private phone line had been eavesdropped. The Fourth Amendment protects people, not places.

GREAT READ!

Jones v. Mayer Co. (1968).
Court held that the federal government may prohibit discrimination in housing by private parties under the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Cohen v. California (1971).
Court held that one should not be convicted for wearing a jacket in a courtroom emblazoned with the phrase "Fuck the Draft,” as this is communication protected by the First Amendment.

Miller v. California (1973).
Court concluded that to be obscene, a work must fail several tests determining its value to society; and therefore, indicate it has “no redeeming social value.”

Roe v. Wade (1973).
Court concluded that “the right of personal privacy includes the abortion decision.”

GREAT READ!

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978).
Court held that race-based set-asides in educational opportunities violate the Equal Protection Clause.

Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988).
Court held that a public figure shown in a parody must show actual malice to claim he is libeled.

GREAT READ!

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
Court held that Pennsylvania's abortion law is unconstitutional and Roe is still valid precedent.

NOT A GREAT READ, BUT IMPORTANT!

Romer v. Evans (1996).
Court held that a law cannot prohibit anti-discrimination laws for homosexuals (decision founded on the Equal Protection Clause).

Lawrence v. Texas (2003).
Court ruled that Texas’ anti-sodomy law “furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal and private life of the individual."

GREAT READ!
GREAT READ!
GREAT READ!